Axe and Sword
by Jet556
Summary: Gard the Evabon has arrived to aid his friends the ThunderCats against their shared enemies Pumyra and Donalbain. Donalbain has been waiting for this coming clash, hoping to destroy his archenemy but Pumyra may have other ideas.
1. Gard's Arrival

**Welcome, everyone. This new story will put more emphasis on Gard and Donalbain's relationship as enemies. Enjoy and review.**

**Gard's Arrival**

An axe against a sword. That was how things would be. Gard's single-bladed battle axe against Donalbain's sword that had the skull of a small animal as pommel. Black blood would fall upon the ground and one day one of them would lie dead.

With Cheetara and the young caracal Caracalla did Gard that day join the other ThunderCats. Seeing the Old Savage, Lion-O and Tygra both approached with smiles upon their faces.

"It is good to see you, Gard." Lion-O said.

"How is Wilusa?" Tygra asked.

"Well, we recently had a siege so there is a bit of getting used to things being back to normal." Said the grey-skinned humanoid. He scratched a scar on his right shoulder as he looked over to Kat and Kit. "How are those two doing?"

"They are fine." Answered Panthro as he approached. "What were the casualties?"

"Worse for the Labinnac." Gard answered. "Mumm-Ra has given them cannons."

"Cannons?" Cheetara asked, shocked by what she heard. Her red eyes were wide for a moment before she closed them and shook her head. "That is the last thing they need."

"Was the High Warlord there?" Lion-O asked.

"He fought and died there." Gard answered, giving a chuckle. "That winged one shall fly no more." He then looked down at Caracalla, and gave the boy a smile. "But let us talk no more of this. Let Cheetara and I introduce this young fellow: Caracalla."

The eight-year old caracal boy smiled. He was lean and his clothes had seen better day. The adult ThunderCats all looked at him with a different expression on their face. Lion-O returned Caracalla's smile, Tygra having never seen a caracal before raised an eyebrow and Panthro gave a look that said he had seen caracals before.

"Where did you find him?" Tygra asked.

"Gnozzuz." Cheetara answered.

"I thought that place had fallen ten years ago!" Panthro exclaimed.

"Obviously not." Cheetara commented. "We had to rescue Balor and Brigid from it."

"What?" Lion-O asked, as shocked as Tygra was who stood there with his mouth hanging open.

"A story for later." Gard said. "Where is Donalbain?"


	2. The Tapping of a Sword

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**The Tapping of a Sword**

The only thing Pumyra could hear as she returned was the tapping of a sword. Donalbain sat there in the small, desolate clearing in the shade of a shattered pillar from a long-crumbled building. He was tapping his sword against the ground, his eyes narrowed as whatever thoughts were in his head raced around.

The puma approached the white-skinned Evabon and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Donalbain?" she asked, her voice soft. When he did not answer, Pumyra then commented: "If only you had been born a cat. What a man you would make." Normally, Donalbain would have replied with: "If only you had been born an Evabon… If only you were not Mumm-Ra's" but still he did not acknowledge her. Digging her nails into his shoulder and not stopping until she drew blood, a look of frustration appeared on the Turncoat of the ThunderCats. Donalbain would still not acknowledge her. Why did he not speak to her? Why did he not strike when she drew blood from him? What was the matter with him?

There was one thing on Donalbain's mind. He was back in his days in Procyon's horde, before he was Donalbain, before his skin was as white as the mountain snow. His name was Menteith, "Brabantio" Baron Tass would name him, an Evabon with skin as red as wine. He listened as Procyon spoke to his warriors and never forgot any of it.

"Our mission is to make sure our people are never hunted like beasts, used for serfs or under the heel of any tyrants ever again. We have delivered countless Evabon and slain many enemies but the greatest of our opponents is still unfought! To Thundera will we march and when Thundera falls, our campaign will be for all intents and purposes finished! Our people will be free and I will find my brother Gard and he shall be…"

Procyon never got any further. He fell to the ground, shaking. He stayed there as every warrior in his horde stared in horror, with some wondering if they should get a healer. Then Procyon stopped shaking, slowly got up, drew his sword and killed the nearest warrior. The bloodlust curse had taken him and what Procyon would have said was lost. The only thing to do when the bloodlust took Procyon was to either run or bind him and when he was armed no one dared to do the latter.

Donalbain thought of that day and he remembered how often Procyon had spoken of Gard in general. Sometimes positively, sometimes negatively, either way most of the time Procyon spoke of his younger brother with great respect.

The Battle of Thundera broke Procyon a great deal though. Donalbain never saw Procyon again after that.

"Donalbain…" Pumyra said, speaking once more. "Gard has arrived at the ThunderCats encampment."

Donalbain stopped tapping his sword. He turned to look at Pumyra and smiled.

"Excellent." He said. "This time, it all ends."


	3. Eyes of a Child

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**Eyes of a Child**

With everything explained to him, Gard sat in the shadow of a dead tree. He was deep in contemplation of his next move. Donalbain was in the area and it was either he would go to meet him or wait for Donalbain to come to him. The old grey-skin sat with his chin resting upon his right hand, formed into a fist, his divers scars and blind right eye showing him a veteran of many a battle. Snow white Donalbain was no doubt a veteran of many battles as well but Mumm-Ra's spell that had changed him had stripped him of all blemishes, making him look more like an alabaster statue brought to life.

Caracalla merely sat on the nearby ground, staring up at this Evabon. From the stories he had been told, the caracal had thought Gard a colossus. Yet here he was and he was unsure.

Standing up, Caracalla approached one of the other two kittens, the twins Kat and Kit. It was the former he approached, asking: "Is he really Gard?"

Kat gave Caracalla a look and then asked in turn: "Who else should he be?"

"Is he the one the stories are about?"

"Sure is! And the stories people other than ours tell do him more justice!"

Caracalla stared for a moment. He then looked back at Gard and said: "My father always said he was…" He lowered his head, looking to the ground for a moment. Perhaps not so loud. He did not wish to insult Gard but in truth he could not rightly remember what his father had said. All the caracal could remember was that his father had spoken negatively about him.

"Said he was what?" Kat asked. "Some kind of monster?"

"I guess." Caracalla answered, scratching his chin as he looked over at Gard. "But at the same time something more… I think."

"I'm Kat."

"Huh?" Caracalla looked at Kat and asked: "What was that?"

"I said I'm Kat. WilyKat!"

Caracalla stared as Kat pointed at himself with the thumb of his right hand. What was he supposed to say? He never really spoke with anyone outside of his family. What had his father told him? "Never trust a lion or leopard and never let a cheetah lord over you." What had his father said about wildcats? In truth, Caracalla knew not. There had not been many wildcats in his village for his father to ever voice any opinions about them. There had not been any lions either but that was a different story altogether. He had remembered being offered to play with some other kittens, ones who weren't caracals, a few times but always his father would but an end to it.

His father, fifty-one-year-old Septimius. Caracalla wondered whatever happened to him after the fall of Thundera. His father had always seemed so…

The arrival of Kat's sister caused Caracalla to turn his attention to her, a nervous look in his eye. "I'm WilyKit." She said. "You can call me 'Kit.'" Caracalla said nothing. Kit then asked: "You have a name, right?" Caracalla nodded. "What's your name?" Caracalla's expression turned from one of nervousness to one of pure agitation. Was knowing he had a name not good enough for her? Had she not heard Gard introduce him to the others? Caracalla mumbled his name, to which Kit asked: "What was that?" Again, Caracalla mumbled his name. "A little louder please?"

"Caracalla."


	4. Emergence

**Welcome back, everyone. Now that I am free from college finals, assignments and homework, I can finally get back to writing more often. Enjoy and review.**

**Emergence**

Emerging from the shadow of the dead tree, Gard looked up to the sky. His good eye could see rain clouds on the horizon and fighting in the rain was something Gard had experience. Battles in the rain were not something glorious that storytellers would speak of. Mud and blood mixed quickly and at the end of it there would be more blood in the earth than there would be rain.

"You have a plan, Gard?" Lion-O raised an eyebrow. When it came to the Wilderness, Gard was the best person the ThunderCats knew to, well, survive.

The Wilderness that Gard had been exiled to so long ago was not the same so many people thought of. This was the Vast, Unknown Wilderness. An alien world all its own where things undreamt of roamed and was quick to reclaim was once its.

"Donalbain will find me." Gard said. "It is best that I keep him away from you all."

"What?" Cheetara could not believe what she has hearing. "Are you serious? Donalbain can't be killed, you'll need all of us to defeat him."

Gard looked at all of the ThunderCats, Snarf and the kittens included. "All of you?"

"Okay, maybe a poor choice of words." Cheetara admitted. "But we need to remember he is also younger than you are and isn't blind in one eye."

"The most I've got is glaucoma, you are completely blind in your right eye, Gard." Panthro commented.

"I've lasted long enough without anyone's assistance." Gard said. "Besides, it is against the laws of combat."

"Laws of combat?" Tygra's tone was one most incredulous. Gard could not have been serious. "This isn't a duel, do you think Donalbain will adhere to the laws of combat?"

"We shall see." Gard walked past the ThunderCats only to stop after walking ten feet. "Come along if you wish, but one of you should stay here to keep an eye on the children. Preventing a certain puma's interference would be good."

"Excellent, I'll come!"

"No, Lion-O, not… Or perhaps you would be ideal." Gard mused, rubbing his chin with his right hand.

"What?" Tygra asked, just as incredulous as before. "Are you crazy? Pumyra wants Lion-O dead!"

"That's the point." The Old Savage answered, not even turning to face the Tiger. "It would leave her distracted, she would be unable to interfere."

"In that case, I'm coming too." Tygra said. Walking over to Gard, he removed his pistol from its holster and offered it to Gard. "If Donalbain does adhere to the rules of combat, he may want to do things ranged."

Gard stared at the pistol. It was an idea but there was no way of knowing what Donalbain would do. Strictly melee strictly ranged, a combination, hand-to-hand, gradually breaking down from a combination to strictly hand-to-hand, it could go anyway.

"Best wait until we find out how he wants to do it." Gard tightened his grip on his axe, held it up to the sky and then lowered it.

"What was that?" Caracalla asked. "Why did you do that?"

"Something not done anymore: a salute to the sun."

The salute was done and Gard was ready for the coming duel to begin. Gard had emerged from the camp of his allies and now he would fight his adversary, even if it meant his blood watering the soil.


	5. The Stone Circle

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**The Stone Circle**

In the area was a circle of standing stones, older than the Evabon, Labinnac and Nomis civilizations. Were Mumm-Ra, older than either civilization, to see the circle, he doubtless would have recognized it. It was not something he had left but rather something an enemy had.

Gard sat within the circle, axe in hand, awaiting Donalbain's appearance. Lion-O and Tygra were nearby on a ridge overlooking the circle, although Gard believed he would not need their assistance.

Thinking back to the duels of his youth, Gard remembered the law. Killing in a duel had been a crime worthy of banishment. According to the laws of combat, a duel would end with first blood drawn or when one of the combatants had accidentally stepped outside of the circle that the duel was to be fought in. Duels to the death had always been frowned upon by the Evabon, as a dead warrior meant one less to stand in battle. A sore loser may kill or cripple the victor at a later date but the punishment for that was to be whipped and displayed before the clan's populace every day for a year. This was completely different for an individual who had been on trial three times for murder, which was the loss of their dominant hand, and woe unto those who were ambidextrous. The punishment went further but the loss of hands was what everyone remembered first.

From the ridge, Lion-O and Tygra both watched the Old Savage as he sat there. In the shade of a tree they both waited for the appearance of Donalbain and, possibly, Pumyra.

"He waits so patiently…" observed Lion-O, stroking his chin as he stared down at Gard.

"He has had a long time to learn patience." Stated Tygra. "He was old when we came to Third Earth and I am left to wonder if he will still be here long after the civilizations of the animals are no more on Third Earth."

"Why wonder that?" inquired Lion-O, looking to his brother in curiosity.

"Just this fear of what will happen if Mumm-Ra wins." Answered Tygra, grim in tone. "I've been thinking about it and… Wait, look!" Tygra pointed down to the circle where Donalbain had arrived. "He certainly took his sweet time finding Gard."

"As an Evabon he probably has all the time in the world." Commented Lion-O. "I wonder if one has ever died of old age."

Tygra made no comment. He merely thought of living forever in a body that aged as all other bodies did. It sounded almost terrifying. Although Gard seemed eternally sixty-nine, the thought still terrified Tygra.

Gard and Donalbain only stared at one another, neither speaking nor moving. Donalbain made no move to attack and Gard made no move to get up. Both were as still as statues.

"What are they doing?" Tygra asked, puzzled why the two Evabon had not yet begun to fight. "Why are they just staring at one another?"

And then, Gard spoke.


End file.
